


True To Form

by bleep0bleep



Category: Teen Wolf (TV)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Daemons, Alternate Universe - Fusion, Alternate Universe - His Dark Materials, Daemons, Episode: s01e01 Wolf Moon, Gen, POV Scott McCall, Scott McCall As Primary, Season/Series 01
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-09-22
Updated: 2015-09-22
Packaged: 2018-04-22 20:55:36
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,609
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/4850216
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/bleep0bleep/pseuds/bleep0bleep
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>It’s unusual not to be settled by the time one reaches high school. Scott doesn’t mind; Moira can take as long as she needs to find a form that suits her. There are people whose daemons don’t settle until they’re well into adulthood, even though it’s quite rare.<br/>It’s just that nothing she’s tried has seemed to suit them so far.</p>
            </blockquote>





	True To Form

**Author's Note:**

> Written for the [ Scott McCall as Primary Fanworks Fest,](http://scottmccallfanworks.tumblr.com/)for [this prompt](http://scottmccallfanworks.tumblr.com/post/129271291569/his-dark-materials-universe-and-how-that-might) for an HDM fusion.
> 
> Thank you to the lovely [quicklikelight](http://quicklikelight.tumblr.com) for the beta read and for titling this!!
> 
> ~
> 
> For those unfamiliar with Phillip Pullman's _His Dark Materials_ universe, daemons are physical manifestations of a person's soul, that take on animal forms that represent the inner self of their person. Children's daemons will shift from form to form and typically settle for one form during adolescence. There's a more thorough explanation [here](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/D%C3%A6mon_\(His_Dark_Materials\)) if you are interested.

It’s unusual not to be settled by the time one reaches high school. Scott doesn’t mind; Moira can take as long as she needs to find a form that suits her. There are people whose daemons don’t settle until they’re well into adulthood, even though it’s quite rare.

It’s just that nothing she’s tried has seemed to suit them so far.

Moira is currently settled on Scott’s shoulder as a colorful parrot, nipping at his ear while he tries to concentrate on what Harris is saying, scratching notes dutifully.

“Focus, Moirs,” Scott whispers.

She cheeps cheekily back at him and transforms into a rabbit, padding down his arm and settling on the desk, curling up atop one of his textbooks.

The transformation catches a few of his classmates’ eyes, and Scott can hear Jackson snicker, and turns to see both Jackson and his lynx daemon sitting quietly at his feet, giving them a dismissive look.

“Take a picture, it’ll last longer,” Stiles says, glaring at Jackson. “What, you’ve never seen a daemon transform before?”

Hermes, Stiles’ raven, caws angrily at Jackson, flapping her wings territorially at them until Harris stops talking to lecture them and issue Stiles a detention.

“You didn’t have to do that,” Scott whispers, once Harris’ attention is elsewhere.

“Course I did,” Stiles says petulantly.

Hermes nods her head in agreement.

The rest of class passes by without incident, and the day is mostly forgettable, except Moira seems less talkative than usual. As a rabbit she fits neatly in his jacket pocket, but she goes through several more shapes throughout the day, getting smaller and smaller. When Scott gets home he pulls out a hamster out of his pocket and sets her on his desk.

“I’m sorry I can’t decide,” Moira says, after a long moment of silence.

“It’s okay,” Scott says gently, petting her steadily.

“Everyone makes fun of us.” Moira curls around her tail, looking thoughtful.

“I don’t mind. It’s important; like Mom says, everyone goes at their own pace. There’s nothing wrong with taking our time.” Scott smiles, and Moira runs up his hand and along his shoulder. Her whiskers tickle his neck as she crosses to the other shoulder, running in quick, curious steps. “Do you like this form? It was fun having you in my pocket today.”

Moira nods. “Yeah, but I’m not sure if this feels like us, you know.”

Scott has to agree.

 

* * *

 

He finishes his homework early, videochats with Stiles for a bit, then tries working out for awhile, stretching and doing some pull ups. He takes a break to restring his lacrosse stick, Moira sleeping quietly in his jacket pocket, when he’s startled by a noise outside the house.

His mom isn’t going to be home from work for another few hours, and Scott grabs his baseball bat in alarm, heading downstairs to investigate.

“Moira, wake up,” Scott whispers. “Might be a burglar.” One advantage of having an unsettled daemon is the element of adaptation to situations.

Moira shuffles in his pocket but doesn’t stir.

Scott holds the bat aloft ready to apprehend the intruder, and then shrieks when— Stiles— drops from his roof.

His best friend is excited, determined to go into the woods tonight, the thrill of adventure and discovery racing through him; Scott wants to get a good night’s rest for school and lacrosse tryouts tomorrow but Stiles’ mood is infectious, and it's more than likely Stiles will try and go anyway without Scott. Scott doesn’t want him to get hurt.

Moira pokes her head out of Scott’s pocket and sniffs curiously, and clambers out without warning. Before Scott can grab her she transforms into another raven, soaring up into the night sky. She and Hermes circle each other playfully for a moment, flying above their heads, nipping at each other before landing on the roof of Stiles’ Jeep, parked in the driveway.

“Huh, that’s a sight,” Stiles says, laughing at the two daemons waiting for them.

“Alright, let’s go.” Scott trusts Moira’s instincts; if she wants to go with them, he’ll go.

The woods seem darker tonight, air filled with foreboding. Stiles is chatty and excited, waving the flashlight around, and Hermes and Moira hover ahead, speaking to each other silently in the way that daemons do.

“You think Moira likes being a raven?” Stiles asks.

“Yeah? I don’t think she’d settle as one, though.”

“I didn’t think she would,” Stiles muses.

They speculate a bit on their daemons, and their personalities, before the subject turns to lacrosse, and by then the walk has taken more of a toll on Scott. He pauses to take a drag from his inhaler.

Moira is still circling ahead with Hermes, and Stiles spots lights in the distance, hurrying ahead excitedly to see the commotion.

Scott’s about to follow but he needs to catch his breath again. He takes a deep breath, feeling more aware now that he’s alone of the depth of the forest, the rustling of the leaves, and then—

Hooves, darting towards him. Scott’s thrown backwards and he drops his inhaler as a herd of deer spring out of the bushes. Cursing, he takes out his phone and tries to find the inhaler, but the next thing the light falls upon is the pale flesh of a body. Half a body, to be exact.

Scott falls backwards in horror and panic, and loses his footing, tumbling backwards. He can hear wings— Moira, coming to his aid, and he looks for her, but then in the shadows he sees something else. Something growling, large, looming forward. It could be someone’s daemon but it’s far too large, the size of a person, except it can’t be a person, because it looks more like an animal—

The predator surges forward, and Scott tries to run. He hears wings rushing forward— Moira— but then sharp teeth are tearing into him, and he hears Moira fall to the ground just as he does, lost to the pain coursing through his body.

Scott screams, grabbing Moira and cradling her to his chest as he backs away from the beast, and then runs as fast as he can, despite the throbbing pain in his abdomen.

He rushes through the woods and bursts out onto a highway, only to be caught in the headlights of an SUV hurtling towards him. It swerves and misses, and Scott is left standing there, heart racing, holding his daemon.

“Moira, are you alright?” he asks, worried.

It’s more psychosomatic for her, to feel his pain, but she nods weakly, and gets up, flying to his shoulder. “Are you?” she asks.

Scott pulls up his sweatshirt and shirt to look at the injury— it’s hurts, somehow pain radiating everywhere from the bite. It goes deep, raw and bloody. He stares at it for a moment, an awful resignation in his chest, about his injury, about his chances for playing on the lacrosse team tomorrow.

And then it starts to rain. A wolf howls in the distance.

Scott sighs and starts to walk. It’s a few miles back to town, and will be a long night. He presses his abdomen, careful to keep pressure on the wound, but he’s dizzy and tired, out of breath already, and lost his inhaler…

“Scott, come on,” Moira says, and then she’s shifting again, something large and warm and furry. She nudges Scott onto her back, and he clutches at her fur, falling asleep to the sound of her heartbeat.

 

* * *

 

Scott doesn’t remember much of the journey home, only that Moira did most of the walking, and he’s exhausted and still in pain by the time he drags himself up the stairs. He gingerly tapes a thick piece of gauze on the wound and then promptly passes out in bed, vaguely aware of Moira curling up protectively next to him. He cards his fingers through her fur, murmuring thanks as he drifts off to sleep.

Morning comes with a clear head, and Scott feels a lot better— strangely so, considering he’d been attacked by a … _something_ last night. He blinks awake to see Moira sitting on his bedroom floor, idly licking her paws.

“Wow,” Scott says, staring.

At first glance he thought Moira might have shifted into a massive dog, but she’s definitely a wolf, with alert ears and a fierce looking face. She’s a rich, warm reddish-brown, a deep tawny color that’s vibrant and alive, and seems to have this presence he’s never seen in his daemon before. Moira’s experimented with a lot of different forms, to be sure, but she’s never tried for anything larger than a cat before, always picked forms that were easy to hide, unnoticeable, or small and quick, ready to fly away at a moment’s notice.

Moira stands up on all fours, looking pleased.

“I like it too,” she says. “I can’t believe I never thought about it before. But then I heard that wolf howl, and I wanted to help you get home, so I figured… you don’t think it’s too big?”

“No, it’s great,” Scott says. Something about the way she’s carrying herself,  the easy way she’s standing, the confidence in her voice. And it resonates within him too, how right it feels. “You carried me home… and then stayed in this form? All night?”

Moira’s never kept a particular form longer than a few hours before.

She gives him a steady gaze and steps forward, nuzzling at him. Scott reaches out to pet her, feeling strangely excited about everything.

“We’re going to be all right,” Moira says.

“Yeah, of course we are,” Scott replies. “Whatever happens in the future, we can handle it.”

  
  


**Author's Note:**

> Thank you for reading! You can find me on tumblr [here.](http://bleep0bleep.tumblr.com)


End file.
